Bichir Eel

[CFC]

It is best to try and ween your bichirs off of live feeders IMO, feeders are not a good source of nutrition for any fish and your bichir will be healthier on a diet of meaty frozen foods (fish,cockles,mussels ect) worms (bloodworms and earthworms) shrimp (live or uncooked fresh/frozen) and pellets intended for carnivorous fish.
I have 3 species of bichir and i too only feed them 3 times a week (under 10" i fed them everyday).With any predatory fish it is best to only feed 2 or 3 times a week,feed them as much as they can eat in about 5 minutes (so their stomachs are noticably rounded) and then let them take at least 48 hours to digest the meal.By feeding again too early it may cause the fish to regurgitate some of the last meal which can seriously affect bacteria colonies within the filter.

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

hey cory

you shouldnt get ride of your bichir. i was talking to a lady at my lfs and she said she has hers in her tank with tetras and guppies and other fish and they dont get harrassed as long as you feed them plenty. if you still wanna get ride of the bichir let me know. email me at [email protected]. i am getting my new aquarim geared for a bichir. i will gladly take it in.

Don't believe everything 'certain' lfs may tell you, some of them only want to get your money. I very much doubt she keeps a polypterus with tetras and guppies.

More likely she is either telling porkies or has something completely different. I even heard one lfs trying to sell a newbie a shoal of male betta splendis

 

[scyrius]

Hey I had a question about Senegalus Bichir. I have one (I have NO idea what variation but that's unimportant) and was wondering whether anyone knew whether they were blind or not. I had heard that they have a HIGHLY developed sense of smell and I've noticed that they rarely seem to zero in on things by SEEING it and rather swim around until they smell something and then slowly search it out. Anyway, lemme know please. Also, are these fast-growing fish? I have mine in a 55 gallon aquarium with some African Cichlids and haven't had any trouble (as far as aggressiveness goes) but wanted to know if there would be enough space for all of my fish. There's PLENTY of cover (plants, driftwood decorations, etc.) but the tank IS filled with Africans, all of which are expected to be at list 5." I have 7 Africans in the tank, a large pleco, and the senegal. Too much or will I be okay?

 

[CFC]

The bichir wil be fine with the africans, they are too big for it to eat and it has plenty of hiding places to hide from them if they get aggro, just dont expect any fry that may come along to survive. Bichirs do have very poor eyesight and as you said find most of their food by smell, however do not be fooled, they are still highly efficient predators once the lights go out.

 

[cory]

I've read that bichirs should't be kept with Africans, because, even tho they are predators, by nature, they aren't built to handle attacks.

 

[stormin]

I've two bichers for abuout 4+ years. I can tell what i've seen if it helps at all.I have a 65 g tank and, my bichers are about 7-8" long.I do beleave that like many fish they will grow to the size of the tank.I once knew a guy who had one in a 120 long and thie fish was about 12". I have kept mine with african cichlids every since I got them.I have 4 cichlid and two tire track eels in the same tank with the bichers.they seem to do just fine but, as I read in anoyher post,If you don't feed them regularly the other fish tend to come up missing.I too beleave that they cannot see very well and seem to smell their way around.I'v seen them pick up gravel and spit it back out so,it doesn't seem to be a problem to me.I feed my fsh fairly heavily every day.In the morning I feed pellets flake dried tubiflex and,a frozen veriety pack of greens brine shrimp and bloodworms.Some times I will buy 30 or so feeders wich don't last very long.Anyway they all seem to do just fine.
I would like to know if they will breed in a small tank like this and if any onecan tell the sexes apart. 8)

 

[CFC]

I do beleave that like many fish they will grow to the size of the tank.

Fish do not just grow to the size of the tank, the only way fish stay small is by not being fed a good diet which ultimately will kill them.

There are many species of polypterus (bichirs) which range in size from 12" to 35" when fully grown so your 7 inchers are severly stunted whatever species they are, bichirs are fast growers and will reach half their full adult size in the first year.

Bichirs can be housed with some of the less aggressive african cichlids providing there are pleanty of hiding places for the bichir to take refuge in by day, make sure the cichlids are too large to fit in the bichirs mouth too or they will disapeer overnight.

 

[fam1197]

The bichir pictured in the previous post is known as a Poylpterus Senegalus (scientific name), I have one myself. Type that name into a search and you will come up with alot of info if anyone is interested in it. A good site for info on this fish is:

http/www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profile.../profile41.html


Hope that helps !

 

[fam1197]

This is my Senegal bichir taking a rest.....

Senegal Bichir

 

[Norbert]

Hi everyone. I just joined the forum...

I was doing a search for "Dinosaur eel" too, and that's how I got here.

Anyway... The pic that 'fam1197' posted is exactly like the one I have, but mine is only about 3 inches long right now. The store that I got it at, said it was only going to be 4 to 7 inches fully grown. I guess that was wrong?

I've only had it for around 1 week, and last night I noticed that it suddenly has a fairly large lump on it's belly, maybe where it stomach might be, about 1/2 inch past it's gills. I was just wondering if I should be alarmed about this. It's still there tonight, and doesn't seem to be any smaller.

TIA for any help you might have.

Cya,

Norbert

 

[Braddah]

Norburt- Are you missing any fish?? I've noticed things like that with my bichir (before he got his own tank with larger tank mates) and usually after doing a head count I was short a rasbora or 2...... Where did you get it at....I was in Petsmart the other day and saw little bitties in there and gave a little advice that I got from here i.e. they can choke on small gravel....and they didnt seem to care so I dont trust many Lfs'saround here.....

 

[Norbert]

The other fish are too big for it to eat. I suppose it could be a piece of gravel. I was hoping not. The eel doesn't seem to be bothered by it, and it's still as active as ever.

If it did ingest gravel, is it going to kill it, and how long does it take? I got it at PetSmart, and they have a 15 day return policy.

Thanks.

 

[david27]

Norbert
what fish do you have in your tank bichirs can eat suprisingly large items for their size so it might be worth checking.
Do you feed your other fish sinking pellets, because my bichirs used to eat them and then the pellets would swell up and cause bulging stomachs that would take a couple of days to go down.
If he has swallowed gravel which i really hope he hasn't, it is likely to kill him and it may take a little while before you'll know for sure sorry

If he is okay then keep us all posted and it might be a good idea to switch to sand as a substrate.






My Bichirs

 

[ghostknife]

I have a polypterus senegalus in my 3ft tank I feed it Frozen bloodworm it lives with a black ghost and other medium sized fish. They are incredibly peaceful (well mine is). Good tank mates in my opinion include medium sized cichlids eg. Firemouths, Shoaling fishes but not tetras I keep mine with giant danios.

 

[zantetsuken]

I thought I would add to the "Dinosaur eel" discussion by sharing the pic of mine with you all:

What species of Bichir is it? Where can I find some good info on it? Why the heck is Petco naming these things wierd a$$ names???